6 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
31st. The average number of days on which .01 inch or more was re- 
ported, was 2. » 
Wind and Weather. — The prevailing direction of wind was northwest. 
The highest velocity of wind reported was 50 miles per hour from the 
northwest at Sioux City on the 15th. The average number of clear days 
was 17; partly cloudy, 8; cloudy, 6. 
FEBBUABY. 
The weather during February was mild and pleasant, with no con- 
tinued cold periods. The mean temperature was above the normal, and 
has been exceeded only five times in the past nineteen years. The preci- 
pitation was above the normal, and heavier than usual, the average, 1.69 
inches, being .98 inch, greater than February, 1907, and .12 inch greater 
than the largest previous amount ever recorded for the State, which was 
1.57 inches, in February, 1905. The amount of sunshine was about normal. 
The mean temperature exceeded the normal in all sections, the excess 
being greatest in the northern section, where it averaged 5.9°. The first 
decade was the coldest portion of the month, the coldest days of his 
period being the 1st and 2d, which were without exception the coldest 
days of the month. The warmest periods of the month were from the 
9th to the 15th, and the 21st to he 25th. The monhly maximum tem- 
peratures ranged from 40° to 59°, and were reported mostly on the 12th 
and 24th. The monthly minimum temperatures ranged from zero to 
-16°, and were reported, with one or two exceptions, on the 1st and 2d. 
The precipitation was well distributed throughout the State, although 
it was heavier in the southern and eastern counties. Precipitation oc- 
curred generally on the 4th-5th, 12th-18th, 24th-26th, and 29th, the largest 
amounts occurred on the 4th-5th, and 18th. The snowfall was unusually 
heavy, and the excess in precipitation for the month is mostly due to 
the severe snowstorm which swept the State on the 18th. It was the 
most severe of the winter, being accompanied by high wind, which drifted 
the snow badly, and delayed traffic in all sections of the State, the 
amounts of snow, ranging from 2 to 4 inches in the northern counties, to 
10 to 16 inches in the southern and eastern counties. The snow dis- 
appeared very rapidly on the 22d and 23d, and at the close of the 
month, the ground was uncovered except for a trace in the northeastern 
counties. 
Tempebatube. — The monthly mean temperature for the State, as 
shown by the records of 115 stations, was 24.3°, which is 5.1° above the 
normal for Iowa. By sections the mean temperatures were as follows: 
Northern section, 22.1°, which is 5.9° above the normal; Central section 
24.4°, which is 4.8° above the normal; Southern section, 26.4°, which is 
4.6° above the normal. The highest monthly mean was 29.1°, at Keokuk, 
Lee county, and the lowest monthly mean, 18.2°, at Rock Rapids, Lyon 
county. The highest temperature reported was 59°, at Keokuk, Lee coun- 
ty, on the 12th; the lowest temperature reported was -16°, at Decorah, 
and Thurman, in Winneshiek and Fremont counties, on the 2d. The 
average monthly maximum was 49.8°, and the average monthly mini- 
mum was -7.2°. The greatest daily range was 51°, at Thurman. The 
average of the greatest daily ranges was 37.0°. 
